Question

1.Write 2 pages on the history of Kevin Mitnick, what he was accused of doing, how he was caught, and his punishment.
2.How did this case affect the legal system and hacking? (at least a paragraph)
3.Do you think that Kevin Mitnick acted ethically?
4.Do you think that his punishment was severe enough?
5.How do you feel about his current occupation?

Below is the whole answer. Help me to answer the answer to each question, then please give me a Citation of MLA or APA. Thank you!

Kevin David Mitnick was born on 6th August 1963 in Van Nuys California. He is an author, hacker and American computer security consultant. He was sentenced to jail for five years for various communication-related and computer crimes and he is best known for his high profile 1995 arrest.

At the age of 16 Mitnick's friend gave him phone number for the Ark, the computer system DEC(Digital Equipment Corporation) used for developing their operating system software called as RSTS/E, Mitnick gained first unauthorized access to a computer network in 1979. He copied a software by broking into DEC's computer network. For this crime he was convicted and charged in 1988 and sentenced to jail for 12 months in jail following three years supervised release. Mitnick then hacked into Pacific Bell voice mail computers near the end of supervised release. Mitnick fled and became fugitive for two and half years after a warrant was issued for his arrest. Mitnick was charged with unauthorized access to a federal computer, causing damage to the computer, wire frauds(14 counts), interception of wire or electronic communications and possession of unauthorized access devices(8 counts).

While he was fugitive, according to U.S Department of Justice, Mitnick gained unauthorized access to dozens of computer networks. To hide his location he used cloned cellular phones and from country's largest computer and cellular telephone companies copied valuable proprietary software. Mitnick altered computer networks and broke into and read private e-mails and stole computer passwords by intercepting into the network. To circumvent various types of computer technology Mitnick used social engineering

The legal system was so devastated that they had to take strict actions such activities. They wanted to ensure that such kind of activities would not happen in coming future. By Mitnick's the act of hacking was taking off and many youngsters were indulge into hacking from negative point view. Some did it for fun and some did for fraud,espionage and so on. It became a huge money making venture.

Kevin Mitnick ethically was wrong because entering into someone's private network without permission or authority is illegal. Though Mitnick didn't cause anything harm but still gaining unauthorized access is unethical.

Yes the punishment to Mitnick was severe enough. Mitnick himself agrees that what he had done is wrong but he didn't harm anyone and some point of time it wasn't illegal either. For Mitnick what he was doing was fun and an intellectual challenge. Maybe Mitnick was fooling and playing with FBI so they decided to give him harsh punishment. Also Mitnick didn't inject any trojan horses or viruses into the system, there was no denial of service for the operating system and didn't destroy any system or software. From his hacking activities he didn't benefit financially. The stealing of bank account numbers was not done by Mitnick. He should have charged some fine and some years of prison but should not be so harsh with him.

Mitnick now runs his security firm called as Mitnick Security Consulting,LLC. It helps companies to test potential loopholes, security strengths and weaknesses. For the security training awareness company KnowBe4 , he is the Chief Hacking Officer. Mitnick is also an advisory member at Zimperium, which is a firm that develops mobile intrusion prevention system. Mitnick has been a paid security consultant, author and public speaker, since 2000. For FBI and Fortune 500 companies he does consulting as well. He teaches Social Engineering classes to dozens of companies and government agencies and also performs penetration testing services for the world's largest companies. Mitnick has designed his custom metal business cards which serves as lock picking kits. Mitnick's publishers released his book titled The Art of Deception in 2002. Mitnick denies illegal use of hacking tools to circumventing computer security or obtain passwords in this book. For obtaining false identification materials Mitnick had designed a penchant.

As we can see Mitnick is indulged into good deeds. This shows that he hasn't done anything harmful. This is what is called as White Hat Hacker. This type of hackers do not do harm to the system but legally penetrates into the system for security purpose. They are computer specialist who breaks into protected networks or systems to assess and test their security. They use their skills for the benefit of the society.

Answer 1

1) Kevin David Mitnick is an Information technology consultant, author, and hacker. He was born on 6th August 1963 in Van Nuys, California. His primary area of expertise is Social Engineering. Social Engineering is a psychological trick to manipulate users to give away sensitive information and make security mistakes. It solely relies on human errors. At age 12, he used social engineering and dumpster diving(salvaging waste from dumpsters) to ride any bus in the greater LA for free of cost. He tricked a bus driver and gained information about the place where he could buy his own ticket punch. He then collected unused transfer slips from the dumpsters and used them to bypass the punch card system in the Los Angeles bus system. At age 16 in 1979, he broke into DEC's( Digital Equipment Corporation) computer network, copied their software and first gained unauthorized access to a computer network when a friend gave him the phone number for the Ark, the computer system DEC used for developing their operating system software called RSTS/E. He was caught in 1988 and was sentenced to 12 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He fled and became a fugitive at the end of his supervised release as an arrest warrant was issued for hacking into Pacific Bell voice mail computers.

Kevin Mitnick was accused of stealing computer programs including the source code to VAX/VMS and an early portable phone system. He did not destroy any software or systems; he didn’t inject any viruses or trojan horses into existing systems, there was no denial of service involved. In one of the press meet, he said that the allegations made by Newyork Times writer John Markoff in his book Cyberpunk were false. some of the allegations were Kevin had wiretapped the FBI, broken into the computers at NORAD and was a computer destroyer.

After Kevin became a fugitive, he used cloned cellular phones to hide his location. On February 15, 1995, the FBI arrested Kevin at his apartment in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was found with cloned cellular phones, more than 100 clone cellular phone codes. He was charged with wire fraud, possession of unauthorized access devices, interception of wire or electronic communications, unauthorized access to a federal computer, and causing damage to a computer. He then served 5 years in prison( four and a half years pre-trial and eight months in solitary confinement ). He was released in 2000 and since he had been a paid security consultant, public speaker, and author. He now runs the security firm Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC which helps test companies' security strengths, weaknesses, and potential loopholes. He is also the Chief Hacking Officer of the security awareness training company KnowBe4, as well as an active advisory board member at Zimperium, a firm that develops a mobile intrusion prevention system.

2) The legal system was so devastated that they had to take strict actions such activities. They wanted to ensure that such kind of activities would not happen in the coming future. By Mitnick's the act of hacking was taking off and many youngsters were indulged into hacking from negative point of view. Some did it for fun and some did for fraud, espionage and so on. It became a huge money-making venture.

3) Kevin Mitnick ethically was wrong because entering into someone's private network without permission or authority is illegal. Though Mitnick didn't cause anything harm but still gaining unauthorized access is unethical.

4) Yes, the punishment to Mitnick was severe enough. Mitnick himself agrees that what he had done is wrong but he didn't harm anyone and some point of time it wasn't illegal either. For Mitnick what he was doing was fun and an intellectual challenge. Maybe Mitnick was fooling and playing with FBI so they decided to give him harsh punishment. Also, Mitnick didn't inject any trojan horses or viruses into the system, there was no denial of service for the operating system and didn't destroy any system or software. From his hacking activities, he didn't benefit financially. The stealing of bank account numbers was not done by Mitnick. He should have charged some fine and some years of prison but should not be so harsh with him.

5) Mitnick now runs his security firm called as Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC. It helps companies to test potential loopholes, security strengths, and weaknesses. For the security training awareness company KnowBe4, he is the Chief Hacking Officer. Mitnick is also an advisory member at Zimperium, which is a firm that develops mobile intrusion prevention system. Mitnick has been a paid security consultant, author, and public speaker, since 2000. For FBI and Fortune 500 companies he does consult as well. He teaches Social Engineering classes to dozens of companies and government agencies and also performs penetration testing services for the world's largest companies.

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